Consumer Pracces in Use and Disposal
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Master Degree in Fashion Management The Swedish School of Tex les date 2014-06-07 report no. 2014.11.04 Consumer prac ces in use and disposal: the sustainable fashion challenge Teresa Gallardo Romero & Krista Korkiakoski Acknowledgements The last few weeks have been hec c and fi lled with work, but also very instruc ve and frui ul. From the beginning of the project we have wanted to carry out a research and thesis that would be mean- ingful and useful for us in the future, so we thank our supervisor Rudrajeet Pal for his pa ence and guidance during the whole process of not only wri ng the research but also in the process of fi nding what has turned out to be a dear project. We would like to thank all of the par cipants in our interviews, as you have enabled us to get impor- tant and relevant data for our research and your experiences and thoughts have helped shape the outcomes of a meaningful project for us. Finally we would like to thank our friends and families who have supported and encouraged us during the course of this thesis. Teresa Gallardo Romero Krista Korkiakoski Abstract Title: Consumer prac ces in use and disposal: the sustainable fashion challenge Authors: Teresa Gallardo Romero & Krista Korkiakoski PublicaƟ on year: 2014 Supervisor: Rudrajeet Pal Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to research the main environmental issues concerning fashion from a con- sumer’s perspec ve, iden fy the prac ces that exacerbate these ma ers and the sociocultural ini a- ves that are striving to overcome them. In the course of the paper, the authors hope to provide with more insight into consumer prac ces and mindsets regarding sustainable prac ces in order for future strategies concerning sustainable fashion to be more accurate and precise. Method The study is conducted through the implementa on of ac on research methodology a er conduc ng an extensive search of the exis ng theories and studies in the area of the research. The fi rst part of the ac on research process was carried through the observa ons and twenty interviews completed in a endance to clothing exchange events, by researching the outline of the present sociocultural ini a- ves to overcome fashion sustainability issues in popular media, and the revision and refl ec on on the fi ndings collected. The second part on the research was made by outlining a project where the previ- ously iden fi ed issues are tackled in the integra on of the diff erent ini a ves that strive toward more sustainable prac ces from a consumer perspec ve into one pla orm. A er the outline of the project ten interviews were conducted in the la er part of the second phase of the ac on research, where the project served as a vehicle to asses the interviewee’s current prac ces and views regarding sustainable fashion. A er collec ng the diff erent fi ndings and integra ng them with the predefi ned theore cal framework, a refl ec on including a fi nal version of the pla orm and the answers to the proposed re- search ques ons are constructed to give closure to the study. Conclusion The main environmental issues related to fashion are caused during the use and disposal phases in a garment’s life cycle, which falls under the responsibility of the consumer. However, the public is largely uninformed and the prac ces related to these phases are not changing rapidly enough. There are in- i a ves to shi these prac ces, and they are slowly becoming popular and helping change people’s mindsets regarding their ac ons, but there is a need for much more extensive divulga on of how each individual’s prac ces aff ect the environment and how these ac ons can be shi ed in order to contrib- ute to a more sustainable future. Keywords: Consumer behavior; consumer prac ces; garment life cycle; upcycling; swapping; sustainable fashion; sustainability prac ces; sociocultural forces; DIY; use and disposal prac ces. Table of contents 1. Introduc on 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Structure of the thesis 2 1.3 Purpose 2 1.4 Research Ques ons 3 1.5 Delimita ons 3 2. Theore cal framework 4 2.1 Drivers of fashion consump on prac ces 4 2.1.1 The meaning of fashion 4 2.1.2 Fashion and change 5 2.1.3 Consuming fashion 5 2.2 Sustainability fashion issues from a consumer perspec ve 6 2.2.1 Sustainable fashion consump on 6 2.2.2 Current consump on paradigm 7 2.3 Garment Life cycle 8 2.3.1 Use phase 9 2.3.2 Washing Process 10 2.3.3 End of Use Phase 10 2.3.4 Ac va ng the Circle 11 2.3.5 Second Hand, Vintage 12 2.3.6 Swapping 12 2.3.7 Upcycling 13 2.4 The Business Perspec ve 14 2.4.1 Exis ng alterna ves 15 2.5 Summary 16 3. Methodology 17 3.1 Ac on research 17 3.1.1 Planning 18 3.1.2 Ac ng 18 3.1.3 Observing 18 3.1.4 Refl ec ng 18 3.2 Customized ac on research 18 3.2.1 Focus and planning 20 3.2.2 Ac ng 20 3.2.3 Analysing data 20 3.2.4 Refl ect/ Model development 21 3.2.5 Presen ng model 21 3.2.6 Analysis 21 3.2.7 Refl ec on 21 3.3 Method validity and reliability 21 3.3.1 Reliability and replicability 22 3.3.2 Validity 22 4. Findings 23 4.1 Data collec on 23 4.2 Observa ons 23 4.3 Interviews 24 4.3.1 Swapping events 24 4.4 Secondary research fi ndings 27 4.4.1 Companies and organiza ons 27 4.4.2 Mobile Applica ons 30 4.4.3 Youtube, DIY and Upcycling tutorials 31 4.4.4 Blogs 32 4.5 Presen ng the model 33 5. Analysis 36 5.1 Mobile applica on, AppCycler 36 5.1.1 Swap 36 5.1.2 DIY 37 5.1.3 Care 37 5.1.4 Recycle 37 5.1.5 Map 37 5.2 Summary 38 6. Conclusions 40 References I Appendix 1: Interview ques ons in swapping events V Appendix 2: Interview ques ons in model presenta on interviews VI Table of fi gures Figure 1: The cycle of fashion garment 8 Figure 2: The current wardrobe metabolism. Adopted from Fletcher and Grose (2012) 9 Figure 3: The future’s wardrobe metabolism. Adopted from Fletcher and Grose (2012) 11 Figure 4: Upcycling within the linear life of garment. Adopted from Alice Payne (2011) 14 Figure 5: The cycle of ac on research 17 Figure 6: The cycle of used ac on research 19 Figure 7: Previous par cipa on in clothing exhange events 25 Figure 8: Number of swapping events a ended 25 Figure 9: Preferences regarding acquiring and ridding of second hand dress 25 Figure 10: Issues arisen in clothing exchange 26 Figure 11: How appealing is a pla orm to swap clothing online 26 Figure 12: Layout of the AppCycler 1 33 Figure 13: Layout of the Appcycler 2 33 1. Introduc on In the last two decades a drive for sustainable fashion emerged, grew and ul mately failed. In its be- ginnings the boom of green fashion and the satura on of labelled so-called sustainable garments, fol- lowed by the realiza on that most of the labelling did not hold any consistency behind it, overwhelmed consumers and made them immune to the eff ects of green marke ng. This occurred because of the approach the fashion industry took regarding the topic. They needed to sell their products no ma er what, and if a green tag with a recycling logo and a “green is the new black” mo o would help them, they would embrace it. However, a er several scandals and inquiries about the validity of the sustain- able claims adver sed, consumers grew rapidly disappointed and eventually unconcerned, falling back into their usual consump on habits without regard for ethical and environmental aspects. Neverthe- less, once uncovered, the issues emerging from the produc on of garments could not be hidden once again, and companies were then required to take regulatory measures in order to mi gate the eff ects of the industry, if only to sa sfy the general public’s knowledge and percep ons of the brands. As is well known this is not yet standard procedure and the ideal scenario for sustainable fashion produc on is s ll a road that con nues on, but a small ba le was won in the sustainability agenda and corporate social responsibility is nowadays common prac ce within large enterprises, again, if only for the sake of their stakeholders view. The truth, however, proves to be that this is not enough. Of the main environmental issues caused by clothing, not produc on, but use and consump on proved to be the most cri cal points in the larger picture. The amount of water, energy and waste created by laundering alone poses one of the biggest threats to the sustainable fashion no on, as well as the ever increasing tex le waste in landfi lls. These issues are related en rely to each individual user and their ac ons, but the endeavor of making the large public aware of this issue is being undertaken by several, rela vely small enterprises both private and public that don’t seem to be succeeding according to the studies.